Sled-propeller



(No Mode1.) F ROBBIN SLBD PROPBLLBR.

NoL 403,960. Patented May 28, 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK ROBBIN, OF ROCHESTER, NEXV YORK.

SLED-PROPELLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,960, dated May 28, 1889. Application filed March 6, 1889. Serial No. 302,078. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK ROBBIN, of Rochester, county of Monroe, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sled-Propellers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

My present invention relates to sled or other vehicle propelling devices in which the occupant propels himself by bringing suitable spurs or propelling-points in contact with the ice or oth er support over which he moves, giving an impulse, and then before his momentum is exhausted giving another one, thus keeping the vehicle in constant motion; and it consists in certain improvements in construction and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter described, and the novel features pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a sled provided with my improvements; Fig. 2, a side view with the guard-rail removed, showing the position occupied by the parts at the commencement and end of the strokes; Fig. 3, a perspective view of one of the levers and push-bars, showing the manner of connecting` them; Fig. l, a sectional view on the line a: of Fig.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote similar parts.

The letter A indicates the top or seat of a sled to which the present embodiment of my invention is applied, B B the runners thereof, and C a round or foot-rest for the operator, connecting the runners forward of the seat. Upon the outer sides of each of the runners forward of the seat are pivoted hand-levers D D, the latter provided on the ends with perforated metal plates d, through which pass bolts or pins d', secured to or passing through the runners or suitable brackets mounted thereon. This form of connection is preferred to pivoting the handles directly to the runner, as there is less liability of the operation being interferedwith by swelling of the wood, of which the levers are preferably composed. The upper ends of these levers are preferably the bars and levers.

slightly curved forward, as shown, to afford a better grip for the operator, and upon the levers just below these handles are hinged push-bars E, having spurs F in their ends for engaging the ice or snow and constituting, with the levers, toggles, the straightening out of which propels the vehicle forward.

In propelling devices of this general description it is desirable that the propellingspurs engage the ground while moving at some speed in a direction to cause the forward movement of the vehicle, so that there will be no drag and the operator may gain power, thus driving the sled at greater speed, and as a means for accomplishing this result I preferably locate upon the sides of the sled brackets or projections G, arranged between the hand-levers and push-bars, as shown, said brackets operating as stops to limitthc backward movement of the levers, and when they are moved forward serving to support the push-bars, which ride up on them, so that during the iirst part of the backward movement they will be supported and not permitted to engage the ground until some speed is gained. This same supporting of the pushbars may be accomplished by the pivoting of the bars and lever together in a manner farther on described.

Upon the sides of the sled are guard-rails H, preferably provided with reduced ends adapted to enter eyes ll', secured into the runners, said rails also passing through perforations in the brackets G, by which they are more firmly secured in position. These rails, while not absolutely essential, are desirable for the purpose of guiding the pushbars, and when it is desired to turn the sled around one only of the'push-bars need be operated, the other serving as a pivot, so to speak, and then said rails will prevent the bars being moved away from the sled or uunecessarily twisting the hinges connecting- Further, the rear ends of the bars are preferably provided with laterally-projecting pins I, for the purpose of preventing their upward movement or allowing them to be moved so far forward to engage the operators person or clothing. lf the guardrail is employed, these pins are preferably located ou the outside ot' the bars; but il' not they may project toward the sled-body ICO and en gage overhanging flanges thereon, the hinged connection between, the bars and levers being in this instance, as before, sufliciently strong to prevent displacement by twisting.

The hinged connection between the levers and bars I preferably construct as in Fig. 3,

providing upon the upper ends of the bars E suitable metal straps,J ,bent over upon themselves, forming loops J', through which are passed wire loops K, having eyes 7a formed in the ends. Bolts L are passed through perforations in the levers and through the eyes of loops K, arranged on opposite sides, the latter being clamped securely by the heads of the boltsl and the rivets L thereon. As this thrust must be brought upon the ends of the push-bars, and for the purpose of providing a broad bearing for their ends without liability of displacement, I preferably recess the rear sides of the.hand-levers, as at L2, for the accommodation of the loop I of the strap, the loops K holding them firmly in position and the friction being sufficient, when pressure is brought to bear on the levers, to hold the spurs in the ice, preventing slipping.

It will benoted that the front sidesfof the ends of the push-bars are cut away and that the hinges are so disposed that upon the forward movement 4of the levers beyond a certain point the bars will take a bearingon the levers below the hinges, so that continued forward movement will raise the ends of the bars from the ground. This point is about the same as that at which the brackets G 0perate to lift the push-bars from the ground, as described, and while I prefer this form of connection at all times, it is obvious that when the brackets arel used to lift the bars any other form of hinge would answer all purposes; but by thus arranging the levers and bars to cause this lifting operation I can, if desired, dispense with the brackets for raising purposes. These two arrangements I regard as equivalents, both performing the same operation in substantially the same manner, thedifference bei'ng that in the one the projection for raising the bar is on'the sled-body proper and in the other it is on the lever.

The spurs on the push-bars are preferably located upon their outer beveled ends, and are so arranged relative to the other parts that when they first strike the ice or snow their rear sides will be nearly vertical, as IV find in practice that this affords a firmer hold and renders them less liable to slip.

The operation of the parts will now be understood. The operator seats himself upon the sled with his feet on the round C, grasps the handles of the levers, moves forward until the push-bars are supported upon the brackets Gr, and then pulls them backward, causing the bars to slide down their support (or to turn over inthe arc of a circle if the levers are alone used to support the bars, as described) and the spurs to enter the ice or snow, and continues this backward pull as far as he ca n, straightenin g out the toggle and causing the forward movement of the sled. Then he pushes the levers forward, the upward movement given the bars lifting them out of the ice and returning them to first position supported upon the brackets, when the same operations are repeated,urging the sled forward rapidly by a series of quick strokes. The sled can be readily steered or caused to move in a circle by exerting more power on one or the other of the levers, and it is in this event that the guard-rails perform good service if light hinges are used, preventing the bars being bent away from the side of the sled.

During the rapid movements of the parts there may be a tendency on the part of the bars to fly up and get out of position, which is guarded against by the pin arranged to engage either the guard-rail or the under side of f the sled-body.

It will further be noticed that the handlevers and also the push-bars operate 1n guides formed by the guard-rail and sledbody, and also that the forward eye securing the guard-rail will serve as a stop to limit the forward movement of the levers, though this may also be prevented by the pins on the push-bars, which may engage the rail close to the brackets G.

Many modifications can be made `by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not therefore desire to be confined to precisely the construction shown, and also the arrangement shown could as well be used for propelling any kind of vehicles, or a single lever and bar be applied to the center of the sled and auxiliary devices employed for steering.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a propelling device for vehicles, the combination, with the push-bar arranged at an angle to the surface of the ground and movable in the direction of its length to propel the vehicle, of a support for-the bar, with which it co-operates at the commencement of its stroke, substantially as described.

2. In a propelling device for vehicles, the combination, with the hand-lever, of the pushbar pivoted thereto, arranged at an angle to the surface of the ground and movable in the directionof its length to propelv the vehicle, and a support with which said bar co-operates at the commencement of its stroke, substantially. as described.

3. In a propelling device for vehicles, the combination, with the hand-levers arranged 'on opposite sides of the vehicle, of the pushbars pivoted thereto, arranged at an angle to the ground and movable in the direction of their length, and supports with which said bars co-operate at the commencement of the stroke, substantially as described.

ft. In a vehicle-propeller, the combination,

IOO

IIO

with the push-bararranged at an angle to the ground and movable in the direction of its length, of the laterally-projecting pin thereon,

and the rail or surface arranged above said pin for preventing vertical movement, substantially as described.

5. In a vehicle-propeller, the combination, with the hand-levers, of the push-bars pivoted thereto, and the guard-rails between which and the vehicle-body the push-bars operate, substantially as described.l

G. In a vehicle-propeller, the combination, with the hand-levers, of the push-bars pivoted thereto, and the projections arranged between said levers and bars, with which they both co-operate, substantially as described.

7. In a-vehicle-propeller, the combination, with the hand-levers, of the push-bar pvoted thereto, the stops arranged forward of the levers, and the projections between the levers and bars, substantially as described.

FREDK. ROBBIN.

Vitn esses FRED F. CHURCH, S. E. TRUE. 

